First Look Forum

October 14, 2009

The First Look Forum was a huge succes!

Top 5 Presenters: Dibspace, DigitalScirocco, Findood, Geedra, Heatflow Technologies

Congratulations to Findood!

Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 ~ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, with reception to follow

Location: The Arctic Club Hotel,700 3rd Avenue at Cherry Seattle, WA 98104 Seattle.

Timeline:

• August 31: Applications close.
• Week of August 31: Selection of 20 semifinalists.
• September 7 - September 18: First round of screeching (coaching + screening)
• September 22: Selection of 12 finalists
• September 23 - October 2: Second round of coaching
• October 14: First Look Forum

March presenters raved:

•  “The screeching process offered a time for deep review and having an open mind to excellent criticism from fresh informed minds.”
• “How NWEN got all those VCs and angels into one room is somewhat a miracle”.
• " I had a wonderful experience and I have had some exciting developments as a direct result of my participation at the First Look Forum"
• "NWEN's first look forum put divvy on the map ever since presenting, we've been busy answering invites to pitch to almost every angel stable in the city."

What to expect:
For the 12 companies chosen to present, you will get to pitch your business for 3 minutes to an investor audience. You will all receive Startup Guide, just for being in the final 12.

In American Idol style, the audience votes to narrow the field to 5 competitors. Top five vote getters will get a free pass to Zino and Keiretsu screening, a free “pitch clinic” from the Alliance of Angels, and a book of lists from the Puget Sound Business Journal (great for biz dev).

Grand prize (one winner only, again, audience-selected): Swift HR in a Box, an entire set of office furniture, and one full year of free office space (not to mention residency with some incredibly smart people), courtesy of WRF Capital.

Fees:

• Application: $55 members/$100 non-members (includes feedback and pitch clinic if not selected)
• Advancement (12 presenting companies): $175 members/$275 non-members (includes 3 hours of coaching, attendance for event, hosted reception)
  

To attend:
As we prepare for the event, the investor audience is by invitation only. If interested, please email rlovell@nwen.org.

For our inaugural First Look Forum in March, we reached out across the region to identify bleeding edge technologies and business models led by committed and credible entrepreneurs. After screening 50 companies, we selected 12 scaleable businesses, from clean tech to Web 2.0, consumer products to robotics who ultimately pitched their ideas to a room full of investors. Click here to see the presenters from our last First Look Forum, and here to read about the experiences of entrepreneurs and investors alike.

Presenting Companies

October 2009 Presenters

Company Name	Presenter Name	Website	Industry	Tagline
	Justin Saul	www.aurumis.com	Content/Media	Empowering paid content.
	Tyler Phillipi	www.cocollage.com	Web Services/ Social Networking	Cultivating community in great, good places
	Dominic Canterbury	www.dibspace.com	Web Services/SAAS	Funny Money. Serious Business.
	Bruce D'Amrosio	www.digitalscirocco.com	Web Services/SAAS	Where Content Creates Value
	Jamen Shively, CEO	www.findood.com	Food/ Beverage/ SAAS	The online place to find food.
	Rob Mathewson	www.geedra.com	Web Service/ SAAS	Bringing Efficiency and Transparency to Construction Jobsites
	Phil Tapia	www.gluenow.com	Web Services/ SAAS	Simple Web & Mobile Content Publishing
	Richard Salitra, CFO and Conrad Vernon, Founder & CEO	www.greenbridgeinternational.net	Green	Provides green training for manufacturers
	Warren Dinges	www.heatflowtech.com	Life Sciences	HeatFlow Technologies, Inc. has proprietary biotechnology that revolutionizes PCR diagnostic testing to less expensive, less complex, point-of-care clinical laboratories.
	Nikhil George	www.podcurry.com	Mobile Media	The iPhone News Delivery Platform
	Mark Briggs	www.serramedia.com	Web Services/ SAAS	Hyperlocal imagination. Hyperlocal innovation.
	Ryan Barr	www.thegreenmicrogym.com	Green/ Fitness	How Powerful is Your Workout?